"Agent Advice" is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features David Hale Smith, founder of DHS Literary, Inc. in Dallas. 

GLA: What's the most recent thing you've sold?

DHS: One of my favorite recent projects is a new novel from the brilliantly twisted mind of Victor Gischler. He has moved over to Touchstone/Fireside with a new two-book deal. The first novel in that deal is called Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. It offers an insanely funny vision of the American future. And, of course, I’m very excited about Greg Rucka's graphic novel, Whiteout, being adapted as a big-budget movie starring Kate Beckinsale.

GLA: If a writer queries you with a crime novel, and it's the first in a series of three with the other two books already finished, should the author mention this at all? Or should they let such a discussion come up later?

DHS: I like to know that writers are thinking strategically, but I want to know they can put first things first. Write a book that dazzles me. If it's the first in a planned series, it’s OK to mention that in a query. But I do get a little nervous when I start hearing about a number of other finished manuscripts lying around that "no one has ever seen." 

GLA: You handle different genre work—crime, thrillers, Western, etc. When an author queries you, should they say their submission is simply a "thriller" or a "Western"? Or do they need to be more specific, saying it's a "legal thriller" or a "police procedural" or a "law and lawmen Western"?

DHS: Again, I want to read the actual manuscript before we get into what section of the bookstore it should land in. Many times, I don't even think about the genre until I'm starting to talk to publishers about how the book will be published. Lately there have been a lot of cross-genre hybrids flying around, and that stuff can be great fun, but keeping it simple often works best at the beginning of a career. Then again, a lot of the best stuff comes from reinvention. How's that for contradictory advice?

GLA: You only take work by a referral. Do you also meet writers at conferences?

DHS: I love discovering new writers and reading first novels. But like everyone else, I just don't have enough hours in the day. The best filter I have found is to limit submissions to those that come in by referral. But when I go out and do a writers conference, if I hear a pitch I like, I will always invite a submission. At that point, you don't need a referral.

GLA: Bottom line—what attracts you to a work?

DHS: I like to feel almost physically pulled into a book. I want to discover a work with some magical combination of narrative voice, creative vision, and artistic ambition that absolutely demands publication.

David Hale Smith is the founder and president of DHS Literary, Inc., based in Dallas. His sales and management work has been mentioned in numerous publications, including Publishers Weekly and Daily Variety.
   He works with literary and commercial fiction - especially mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers—as well as a broad range of nonfiction. His agency also sells film, foreign and all subsidiary rights Representative books handled by Smith’s agency include New York Times bestsellers The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook series (Chronicle Books) and many more. A forthcoming work is Start Strong, Finish Strong by Dr. Kenneth Cooper and his son, Dr. Tyler Cooper.
   Smith has been a featured speaker and panelist at leading writers' conferences, including the Maui Writers' Conference, Bouchercon, Jackson Hole Writers' Conference, Pacific Northwest Writers' Workshop and more.

David Hale Smith.

Firebrand Literary, a relatively new literary agency based in New York, has a new literary agent: Ted Malawer.

On children's writer Verla Kay's message board, Ted recently gave a great introduction of himself as well as what kind of submissions he's interested in. I have pasted a lot of his post below.

Good luck submitting!

      "I'm Ted Malawer, a new agent at Firebrand Literary.  I wanted to say hello to all the members here and introduce myself, as I am actively looking to build my client list. As many of you know, Firebrand loves books for young readers. I am looking to build upon our success with YA fiction (recent sales include novels to Random House, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and Flux) and also expand our middle grade, chapter, and picture book list.

For YA, I am really looking for books that walk the line between commercial and literary. I like high concept novels with great 'hooks,' unique premises, and great humor. I also enjoy lyrical fiction, as long as it has an authentic and compelling voice.  I'm a huge fan of mysteries, smart historicals, and urban fantasy about original topics (no vampires, please). I'm not so much into the snarky 'chick lit' voice, but great writing trumps everything...

For middle grade, I am drawn to unique coming-of-age stories.  I like stories that make me laugh, but if you can make me cry, even better. I like projects with fantastical/supernatural elements, too, and action/adventure plots. 

I love fun and exciting chapter books, especially with multicultural characters. I'm always on the lookout for the next amazing picture book, but I'd rather not consider anything over 1,000 or so words, and I'm not interested in bedtime or food stories. Additionally, I do a select amount of adult books, so if you write in both genres that's not a problem for me.

      Writers interested in querying Ted should check out the Firebrand Literary Web site. Ted and his co-agent, Nadia, work very closely together and often review submissions together. Therefore, a "no" from Ted is a "no from Firebrand."

News hat tip: Nancy Parish

While Guide to Literary Agents is best known for its large and detailed list of literary agencies, every edition has plenty of informational articles and interviews designed to help writers perfect their craft and contact agents wisely. The 2008 edition is no different, with more than 80 pages of articles addressing numerous writing and publishing topics.

After browsing through some more Writer Beware blog posts, I got to thinking more about my previous advice to "beware anxious agents." In a previous post, I talked about how agents seldom take on new clients, so writers should approach overly enthusiastic reps with extreme caution. I mentioned that any agency who advertises, especially, is a big fat scam.

But there's more, my friends. Make sure you run away from any agency that directly solicits you or that uses testimonials. Let's think about this: How ridiculous is it to use a testimonial? "Randy McMasters sold my book for big bucks! He's awesome!"

You know who uses testimonials? Freelance editors and script doctors - because they want your money. Legitimate agents never charge upfront fees, so an agency posting a testimonial on their blog or Web site is loony; nay, it's inconceivable.

Thanks to a tip from another WD blog, Poetic Asides, I heard about a good article on the Writer Beware site addressing how big-name literary agents never accept poetry submissions. Here's a snippet from the article:

      "Listen up, poets. Apart from celebrity projects and writers who are already well-known, successful literary agents rarely represent poets. Even in the best of circumstances, poetry collections are a tough sell, and the poetry market, which is dominated by small presses, simply isn’t lucrative enough to make it worth most agents’ while. Poets generally get their start by selling individual poems to reputable markets. Once they've built up a track record, they can submit their collections to small publishers on their own. Beware, therefore, of literary agents whose guidelines say they represent poets or that they're seeking poetry collections. Nearly always, they’re unscrupulous operators looking to charge a fee, or amateurs who know nothing about the realities of the business. Most have no track record of sales to paying publishers of any kind." Check out the full article here.

Basic Agent Info:

About 99 percent of what literary agents represent is novels and nonfiction books. Some agents specialize in handling plays. Some will represent collections of short stories, but such collections are a hard sell, which is why very few agents do this. Poetry is even worse, with almost no literary agents accepting poetry submissions. And, of course, literary agents do not represent magazine or newspaper writing. Poetic Asides and other sites will tell you much more about how to legitimately get your poetry published, but I will tell what I know - and what I know is that writers should stay the heck away from Poetry.com. (By the way, the Poetic Asides blog was recently declared "Blog of the Week" by the Institute of Children's Literature. Coolness.)